I did it for Ulster

You'll probably not be shocked to hear this, but both Vanessa and I broke our self-imposed January alcohol bans last night - and have since been punished to distraction.

The long and the short of it from my point of view was that I was bored drinking squash and water and all that dull stuff. And if you work hard(ish) all week, well, I think you're entitled to a wee drinkie. Or a big drinkie. Plus, as I said yesterday, Ulster were playing rugby on the telly and I felt I could be more vocal in my support for them if I had a proper drink in my hand. (I think it made all the difference because, if you haven't heard, they played brilliantly and won).

And, as my friend Rob wrote on Facebook shortly before I opened one of only two cans of Guinness (before moving on to wine when Vanessa joined in):

"The no drinking is a health issue, making yourself unhappy creates stress which is a big killer."

What a wise man Mr Robert Ling truly is (for a Manchester United fan).

Cue punishment.

On the stroke of midnight and with no warning whatsoever, Jamie was sent the world's worst cold. (I thought it was a bit cheap of whoever it is who casts bad things on people to use the innocent one as a pawn). He began to cough and sneeze and his nose began to stream and, 12 hours on, he's still only been asleep for about 90 minutes in total.

Vanessa did the midnight - 4.30 shift with him and I did 4.30 - 9.30 before he finally had his little snooze. Goodness knows how he's managing to keep awake now.

But Vanessa and I are wrecked.

Thank goodness we can look forward to another drink tonight.